thebastion | [day 187] she calls out to the man on the street, "sir, can you help me?" (closed)

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[day 187] she calls out to the man on the street, "sir, can you help me?" (closed)

Who: Hilda, Yukio, Rin (N, AZ, Anna, and Colin later)
Open: Closed
When: Day 187
Where: The Hospital
What: Goddammit, Hilda.
Format: action brackets!
Warnings: A very injured teenager and probably a lot of yelling at her when she's awake.

[ After all of the drama of the previous night, Hilda had learned of what had happened that day before she and N talked, and found out that his castle had appeared on the Skyway. Not just another part of Unova, but a part of Unova that held a lot of memories for N. Memories that ... she knew damn well weren't all good.

She still hurt from their conversation, but she understood now why he was acting the way he was. She still had no idea what to do to fix it, so she focused instead on something she knew she could do: She wanted to see the castle for herself. She had to. It was a something she didn't feel she'd have closure on unless she saw it.

She didn't tell anyone where she was going. She slipped out with Emboar early in the morning after feeding the Pokemon, headed to the Skyway so that the two of them could make their way to the Castle themselves.

Getting there wasn't the problem. It took a while of searching, but they did eventually arrive at the Castle just fine. Hilda had stopped, gazing wide-eyed upon the crumbled remains of a once proud-standing castle. She could hardly will herself to move any more than that ...

... And that was her mistake. Something had begun to move into the castle, and it wasn't happy with the trespassers.

Hilda didn't know what had happened. All she knew in that next moment was pain. Emboar cried out for his trainer as she fell, now bleeding from her head and scraped up and bleeding more on one side from falling and sliding from that attack. The blow to her head made it so she was barely conscious as it was. Emboar cried out for his trainer, and tried to charge at their assailant, only to be knocked back. Hilda was lifted, with the intent of being finished off, when Emboar got up and blew a flamethrower in their attacker's direction. Now caught on fire, it let go of Hilda (who didn't escape that without some burns herself), who fell to the ground. Emboar scrambled to lift Hilda into his arms, taking the opportunity to run for it while it was distracted with fire.

He ran, as fast as he could, worried for his trainer's life ... ]

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Got it!

[Rin was quick to follow those orders, gathering what Yukio needed and returning to his side with the gauze in her arms.

She sniffed the air a bit, searching for something past the tang of copper from the blood.]

... I smell tar.

[Which meant Skyway creatures.]

[ Emboar could only nod to that. Yeah, they were on the Skyway. There really was no point in hiding that, especially not when Rin could tell just by smell.

Emboar wanted to explain further, but neither of them could completely understand him anyway. ]

[Luckily there don't seem to be any injuries outside of what Yukio knows he can handle, at least not from what he can see at the moment. The burns will be painful later, but it looks like she's been spared internal bleeding or broken bones.

A head wound is, of course, much more serious and much more difficult to treat should things take a turn for the worst, so he didn't bother with any more questions. Yukio left Rin to handle the worried Emboar while he worked calmly, hands steady and completely focused on his work.]

[Looking after Emboar was probably the best idea for Rin. She couldn't do much more than hand Yukio things and hold items if she needed that.

Handing the gauze over, she went back to Emboar.]

Hey, I'll stay here with Hilda, okay? Maybe you could go let the others know we have her?

[ Emboar was waffling between staying and going to tell everyone back home what was going on, so hearing Rin say that was a load off of his mind. He could trust Rin, so he felt okay with going back to the Daycare. He nodded slowly. ]

Please, take care of her.

[ And then, he made his way out of the room, then out of the hospital. He started running as soon as he was out of the building heading toward the house. He got there soon enough, then burst into the house, calling out for the one person who could understand him on more than just a fundamental level.

Even if he wasn't exactly happy with N right now, he knew how his trainer felt for him. More than anyone, he had to know.

Emboar wasn't sure how he would react ... ]

N! Where are you? It's about Hilda!

[ The frantic tone of his voice would hopefully tell him this was important. ]

[Sleep had not come easy, and the sleep he did have was fitful and full of dark, twisted dreams. Guilt ate at his gut, making his stomach clench and twist. That nagging voice in his head wanted him to apologize to Hilda, but every time he thought to go outside and speak to her his throat seized up and words left him.

Guilt did nothing to convince him that his words to her before were incorrect in any way. He was selfish, self centered, concerned only with Pokemon and nothing else. That was how he had always been. Why would he change now?

Why indeed...

Hilda was why. Somewhere, deep down, beneath the grief and the upset and the part of him that was utterly convinced he wasn't a person worth loving at all, he knew that Hilda was the reason he had begun to change at all. The reason he had left, because he needed to find his own way away from Ghetsis to be some one worthy of the attention she was willing to give back.

And yet he had pushed her away yet again, here in this place where there was so little left...

So he had his fitful, restless sleep, and his dark dreams, and his nausea throughout the night, at one point becoming aware that Zoura had left the room and gone outside but not caring enough to go after her.

Besides, Hilda needed her more.

And now something had jerked him out of his barely restful sleep, a voice in his head frantic and panicked. He practically fell out of bed, stumbling from the bedroom with hair a mess but gray eyes alert and wide.]

Emboar... ?

[ Oh, good, he'd heard him. Some of the Pokemon were now aware that something was going on, and had crowded in the doorway to watch. Zorua was least aware that there was something wrong. She happily barked at her big brother. ]

Big Brother, welcome home! Where's Mama?

[ Emboar didn't focus on Zorua, as much as he didn't want to ignore his baby sister. He had to relay the message to N. ]

Hilda's been hurt. She's at the hospital now, Rin's brother is working on patching her up. She's not conscious.

[ Emboar slumped a little bit. ]

... I'm really scared.

[ It took a lot for him to admit that. It was true, though. Hilda had been in pretty bad shape when he left the hospital. While he trusted that Yukio and Rin would take care of her as best as they could, he just didn't know what was going to happen to her, and it scared him. It scared him to see his oldest friend like that ... ]

[N put a hand on Zoura's head, giving her a quiet "shh" command so he could hear Emboar better. He was glad he did, because that was needed information that was both startling and upsetting.]

... what do you mean, she's hurt? What in the world happened?!

She heard about the Castle showing up on the Skyway, and she wanted to see it herself. I went with her, but there were monsters there when we arrived. One of them attacked us and knocked her around real bad.

[ There really was no point in hiding that. Not with Hilda in the shape she was in. ]

I got her out of there and to the hospital as quick as I could, and she's being taken care of now, but I'm still really worried.

[ The expression on Zorua's face fell. ]

Mama's hurt?

She--... no...

[Of all the things he had expected Hilda to do in her upset, that hadn't been one of them. How did she even learn about the castle?!]

I-- ... th... thank you for telling me, Emboar...

[A shaking hand gently pet Zoura, trying to keep her calm.]

I'm going to tell the others. If she's being cared for now I'll only be in the way. I will head to the hospital as soon as Anna and AZ have been informed...

[ Emboar nodded. Hilda would want to see him, he knew that.

He holds out a hand, offering to take Zorua from him. He didn't seem to be doing well, after all.

To be fair, Emboar wasn't doing well, himself. He just didn't know how to handle this. N was already fragile, though ... that made it worse. Zorua probably wasn't going to make it any better. ]

[N nodded quietly, handing Zoura over after a few more comforting pets. He was still trembling, but he did everything he could to hide it from the others.]

[ Anna is already on her way down, her blanket wrapped egg in her arms. ]

It will be okay.

[ She has to watch them a bit longer to get more than "there are upsetting things happening." ]

... Do you know how to make apple bunnies?

[Yeah sorry Anna, N won't be very... responsive.]

I-- ... what?

You slice apples and cut the skin off so the slices have ears. Apple bunnies.

[ She looks between the two again. ]

Apples are good for you, so you give them to people who are stuck in bed sick. And they're cute, so they cheer you up.

[It's so hard to not just break down right there. Hilda had gone alone, to the Skyway, to the castle because of what he'd done, and Anna was innocently talking about apple bunnies...

N swallowed hard, a burning in the back of his throat difficult to shove down. Eyes closed, a shaking fist against his thigh, he had to force his breath in and out evenly before he could turn to Anna and kneel down in front of her.]

Hilda... Hilda would like that a lot, I think. Can you make them... ?

I think so.

[ N, N no, she didn't mean to make you upset. ]

... I might need help peeling the apples. Everyone I have seen make the bunnies does so with a knife. [ That's because they're supposed to be made with a knife, Anna. ]

... Does she like red apples? [ Because would Anna pick out any other kind of apple? ]

[He can't help it right now...]

I-- I should--...

[Even if he goes right now, he'll just be waiting.]

... I need to tell AZ. Can you wait here while I do that? I'll... I'll help you, and you can take them to her.

... I will find apples.

[ And maybe Swablu, to give N fluffy hugs. ]

Alright.

... thank you, Anna.

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[day 187] she calls out to the man on the street, "sir, can you help me?" (closed)

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